The Essential Cuba Photo Gallery

Hotel Nacional de Cuba was designed by McKim Mead & White, opened in 1930. It was a hangout for the famous and infamous until the revolution. A national icon, the hotel was restored and reopened in 1992. (Photo courtesy of Meg Maguire)

The Mojito, a highball drink still popular in Cuba, is made of white rum, sugar cane juice, lime juice and sparkling water. Essential on the to-do list when you’re visiting Cuba. (Photo by Meg Maguire.)

A photo montage of the famous and infamous who stayed at the Hotel Nacional: Gary Cooper, Errol Flynn, Rita Hayworth, Meyer Lansky and more.

The Malecón in Havana, where the land meets the sea – a magnet for meeting up and socializing

Sloppy Joe’s bar in Havana was used as the setting for Our Man in Havana (1959), here a photo of Ernest Hemingway with actor Sir Alec Guinness, who starred in the film. Sloppy Joe’s was the inventor of the Sloppy Joe sandwich. (Courtesy AP Photo file)

Sign for a paladar – a privately owned restaurant often in a home or apartment (Courtesy of Meg Maguire)

Night-time brings out the Buena Vista Social Club and everyone wants to dance. Ry Cooder brought back together the original group, which cut a recording that sold 5 million copies and inspired the eponymous film by Wim Wenders. Today the name is known worldwide!

Out for a spin in a restored Ford Fairlane (Photo courtesy Meg Maguire)

The “big chair” on the Pilar (a 38-foot marlin-hunting boat) owned by Ernest Hemingway. Fidel joined Hemingway for an outing and caught a huge marlin. Photo courtesy of Meg Maguire

Gregorio Fuentes, captain of Papa Hemingway’s boat Pilar and a good friend and the inspiration for Hemingway’s book The Old Man and the Sea.. Photo courtesy of Meg Maguire

At “Fusterlandia,” artist Jose Fuster creates an homage to Fidel, Che and others who took part in putting down the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Fusterlandia includes some 80 buildings and walls in Jaimanitas, and is still a work in progress.

Music is everywhere in Cuba! Here a trio entertains at dinner. Photo courtesy of Meg Maguire

Santeria still practiced in Cuba is an Afro-Christian religion. Here a shrine